Sound-absorbing panel

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a sound-absorbing panel in which the structure of a vibration type sound-absorbing panel for absorbing and offsetting sound waves belonging to a low frequency band is modified to improve a sound absorption effect. A sound-absorbing panel comprises a panel body opened on a lower end thereof and formed on the lower end thereof with a rib which extends outward by a predetermined length, and a plurality of sound-absorbing holes defined on an upper surface of the panel body and possessing a sectional shape of a predetermined figure, each sound-absorbing hole being tapered downward to have an inside space which has a gradually decreasing size and then linearly perforated to have an inside space which has a constant size.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates, in general, to a sound-absorbing panel, and more particularly, to a sound-absorbing panel which is modified in structure by the undulations and sound-absorbing holes formed on a surface thereof to reflect absorb, offset and extinguish sound, thereby improving a sound absorption effect.

BACKGROUND ART

As is generally known in the art, sound absorption represents the fact that when a sound wave reaches a surface of a material, the sound wave is converted into vibration energy or thermal energy of the material through reflection, etc.

In the past, a sound absorption technique is only applied to performances, theaters, broadcasting studios, etc. However, in these days, the sound absorption technique has been applied to various industrial fields and various civilized living standards. Also, the concern for a sound-absorbing material is being increased even for home use.

In the art, there have been disclosed sound-absorbing panels which uses a porous material such as fiberglass or asbestos, and which is formed of various resinous foams so that, when a sound wave is introduced into the sound-absorbing panel, the sound wave is converted into thermal energy due to viscosity of air particles existing in pores or friction between the air particles and the surfaces of pores. The sound-absorbing panels are divided into a plate vibration type sound-absorbing panel which causes sound to be absorbed through vibration of a plate upon incidence of sound against the thin plate to material, and a resonance type sound-absorbing panel in which sound is absorbed through forward and backward vibration of air upon introduction of air into a predefined opening.

At this time, in the case of the sound-absorbing panel formed of a porous material, f sound has a low frequency band, while sound absorption efficiency is greatly deteriorated. However, the sound absorption efficiency for intermediate and high frequency bands are excellent. In the case of the resonance type sound-absorbing panel, the sound absorption efficiency for sound having a low frequency band is excellent.

In this regard, Korean Patent Application No. 2004-64217 has disclosed “Sound-absorbing panel and sound-absorbing plate therefore”. In this disclosure, a sound-absorbing material is described, through which a plurality of holes are defined to have a simple sectional shape to employ the characteristics of the resonance type and porous type sound-absorbing materials.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional sound-absorbing panel. Due to the presence of the sound-absorbing holes 31 defined through a panel body 3, if a sound wave is incident upon the sound-absorbing panel, the sound wave is absorbed through internally repeated diffused-reflection and the resonance of the panel body 3.

Nevertheless, this type of sound-absorbing panel suffers from defects in that, since the amount of sound waves reflected from the upper surface of the panel body is substantial, and the amount of sound waves ejected out of the sound-absorbing panel through diffused reflection is also substantial, sound absorption efficiency is deteriorated.

Also, in this construction, since the sound-absorbing holes 31 are defined through the surface of a porous material, the surface of the sound-absorbing panel becomes very rough. Therefore, if a substantial amount of particles contained in air is accumulated between the porous particles of the sound-absorbing panel, sound absorption efficiency cannot but be further deteriorated, and this may cause secondary pollution of an indoor space.

Further, since it is the norm that sound is offset and extinguished in the sequence of a low sound level and a high sound level, in the above instance, it is most effective to define the sound-absorbing holes 31 through the panel made of fiberglass or asbestos mainly used for an intermediate sound level. However, since these materials are very harmful to the human body, it is difficult to properly employ the materials.

Consequently, as the sound-absorbing holes 31 are defined in a sound-absorbing panel made of resinous foam or non-woven fabric used for a high sound level, it is difficult to uniformly absorb sound waves belonging to wide range of frequency bands.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sound-absorbing panel which has excellent sound absorption capability.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sound-absorbing panel which does not use fiberglass or asbestos harmful to the human body and is thus environment-friendly.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a sound-absorbing panel which can effectively absorb sound waves from multiple directions.

Technical Solution

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a sound-absorbing panel comprising a panel body opened on a lower end thereof and formed on the lower end thereof with a rib which extends outward by a predetermined length; and a plurality of sound-absorbing holes defined on an upper surface of the panel body and possessing a sectional shape of a predetermined figure, each sound-absorbing hole being tapered downward to have an inside space which has a gradually decreasing size and then linearly perforated to have an inside space which has a constant size.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above objects, and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a sound-absorbing panel in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the sound-absorbing panel in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view illustrating the function of the sound-absorbing panel in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional sound-absorbing panel.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS FOR MAIN PARTS OF DRAWINGS

-   -   1, 3: panel body 2, 31: sound-absorbing hole     -   11: rib 12: sheet coating layer     -   21: tapered part 22: non-tapered part

BEST MODE

Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a sound-absorbing panel in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the sound-absorbing panel in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention. The sound-absorbing panel in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention comprises a panel body 1 opened on the lower end thereof and formed on the lower end thereof with a rib 11 which extends outward by a predetermined length, and a plurality of sound-absorbing holes 2 defined on the upper surface of the panel body 1 and possessing a sectional shape of a predetermined figure, each sound-absorbing hole being tapered downward to have an inside space which has a gradually decreasing size and then linearly perforated to have an inside space which has a constant size. According to the present invention, the sound waves introduced into the sound-absorbing holes 2 can be offset and extinguished inside the sound-absorbing holes 2.

When compared to simple sound-absorbing holes according to the conventional art, as the sound-absorbing holes 2 according to the present invention are defined in the sectional shape of a trumpet, an increased amount of sound waves can be absorbed, and the absorbed sound waves are offset and extinguished by vibration and heat energy in the space defined between the sound-absorbing board positioned adjacent to the lower end of the panel body 1 and made of porous resin and adjoining sound-absorbing holes 2.

As the material for forming the sound-absorbing panel, a fire-retardant ABS resin is used. The fire-retardant ABS resin is formed by affording self fire-retardancy to ABS resin which has shock and heat resistance and an aesthetically appealing outer appearance and is used for interior and exterior materials for an automotive vehicle, a helmet, etc.

Since the fire-retardant ABS resin has excellent tensile and bending strength and it is possible to produce a rigid product using a thin material, the fire-retardant ABS resin is appropriate for the material of the sound-absorbing panel.

Therefore, in addition to the sound absorption effect by the sound-absorbing holes 2, since the sound-absorbing panel can be formed to be thin, excellent sound absorption effect can be accomplished through vibration of the sound-absorbing panel, and the rigidity of the sound-absorbing panel is ensured.

Also, in the present invention, the sound-absorbing hole 2 has an upper tapered part 21 which is gradually narrowed in a downward direction and a lower non-tapered part 22 which is connected to the lower end of the upper tapered part 21 and has a constant sectional area. By this fact, the sound waves reflected and discharged out of the sound-absorbing panel can be minimized. Also, in manufacture, after the sound-absorbing panel is formed with the sound-absorbing holes 2 dosed on their lower ends, by cutting the sound-absorbing panel adjacent to the lower ends of the sound-absorbing holes 2, the sound-absorbing holes 2 can be uniformly defined in an easy manner.

The sound-absorbing holes 2 can have the shape of a regular square, a regular octagon, a regular triangle and a mixture thereof.

In the drawings, regular hexagonal sound-absorbing holes 2 are defined through the sound-absorbing panel. In the case of the regular hexagonal sound-absorbing holes 2, since six sound wave reflection surfaces are provided with the interval between adjoining sound-absorbing holes 2 minimized, excellent damping efficiency is obtained through diffused reflection.

Further, a sheet coating layer 12 is formed on the upper surface of the sound-absorbing panel, such that an aesthetically appealing appearance can be accomplished through adjusting a color and a polishing level. As the occasion demands, various pictures or figures can be patterned on the sound-absorbing panel.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view illustrating the function of the sound-absorbing panel in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates a situation in which sound waves introduced into the sound-absorbing holes 2 are reflected in multiple directions.

That is to say, as the sound waves introduced into the sound-absorbing holes 2 are diffusedly reflected in the space defined between the sound-absorbing holes 2 through multiple reflection paths, the sound-absorbing panel serves as a resonator which causes low sound belonging to a low frequency band to be offset and extinguished by vibration energy and frictional energy of the panel body 1.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As is apparent from the above description, the sound-absorbing panel according to the present invention provides advantages in that, since the sound-absorbing panel is formed in the shape of a thin plate, it is possible to absorb sound simultaneously using the vibration and the resonance of the plate, whereby the sound absorption capability of the sound-absorbing panel can be significantly improved.

Also, because the sound-absorbing panel does not use fiberglass or asbestos which is harmful to the human body, environment-friendliness is attained.

Further, due to the presence of sound-absorbing holes each of which has a tapered part, it is possible to effectively absorb sound waves from multiple directions.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims. 

1. A sound-absorbing panel comprising: a panel body (1) opened on a lower end thereof and formed on the lower end thereof with a rib (11) which extends outward by a predetermined length; and a plurality of sound-absorbing holes (2) defined on an upper surface of the panel body (1) and possessing a sectional shape of a predetermined figure, each sound-absorbing hole (2) being tapered downward to have an inside space which has a gradually decreasing size and then linearly perforated to have an inside space which has a constant size.
 2. The sound-absorbing panel as set forth in claim 1, wherein the sound-absorbing hole (2) has an upper tapered part (21) which is gradually narrowed downwards and a lower non-tapered part (22) which is connected to a lower end of the upper tapered part (21) and has a constant sectional area.
 3. The sound-absorbing panel as set forth in claims 1 or 2, wherein a sheet coating layer (12) having a predetermined color and design is formed on the upper surface of the panel body (1) including the sound-absorbing holes (2).
 4. The sound-absorbing panel as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sound-absorbing panel (2) has a regular hexagonal sectional shape.
 5. The sound-absorbing panel as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sound-absorbing panel (2) has a regular square sectional shape.
 6. The sound-absorbing panel as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sound-absorbing panel (2) has a regular octagonal sectional shape. 